Posted: 7/29/2009 1:36:01 PM EDT
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I'd like to got some ideas on where to start as far as acquiring some IT skills that are in demand and can be used to get a job.
My background: I decided back in '98 that the IT field would be a good one to get into. I transferred into Drexel University (it is very prestigious around here) in '99. I did 2 full-time 6 month co-op jobs. I grew frustrated with Drexel because very little of it was the technical info that you need to actually get a job. I did get my feet wet in : C, html, Oracle, SQL, Java, however I don't know any of them well enough to get a job with. Anyway I dropped out in '02 just 12 credits shy of my bachelors. Now: I'm trying to get back into Drexel and finish. I need figure out what skills I want to learn and how to learn them so I can get a job in the IT field. Are there good discussion boards like this one for IT skills ? Is that even a good option ? What should I be doing ? |
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OK brutal honesty time: 1. Dropping out with 12 credits left was stupid, you probably know that by now, so with that out of the way: 2. Degrees/Certs etc get you into the door in the IT world, but experience trumps them in the end. I assume you are 30ish? You are 8-10 years behind most in the professional IT world. 3. Catching up in any field is hard to do, not in the sense that the knowledge is hard to get, but the practical experience comes with time. 4. You will start in the bottom and work your way up. Nobody will trust a greenhorn to manage their IP housed on their servers without some experience under their belt; and that means showing progressive steps up in your career path. 5. Most of the things you learn in College have nothing to do with your field, and more to do with how to solve problems and navigate the world better. The technical knowledge comes over time with, that's right, experience. 6. Most employers will not see your private experimenting as resume material. A good techie does this, but it is not considered experience as there is nothing "real" about it. Good luck. I cannot tell you what specialty to look into as only you can know what that is. Find something that pays the bills. Be prepared to be a jack of all trades. Be prepared to work $8-12/hr tech support/helpdesk type jobs Security is a good field. |
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schizrade,
Thanks for the reply. I know I have an uphill battle. I'm just trying to figure out where to go from here. Frankly I'm kind of happy doing what I do now for a living, it just burns me that I have so much school loan debt and I am not using it. No matter what I want to finish the degree just so I have it. But I could not afford to start out at a job making less then $16 an hour. If that is not possible then I'll just finish the degree and forget about ever doing an IT stuff with it. |
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Quoted:
6. Most employers will not see your private experimenting as resume material. A good techie does this, but it is not considered experience as there is nothing "real" about it. OK. Can someone explain this to me - how do I get experience without getting the job and how do I get the job without the experience ? This is the whole reason I dropped out being so close to graduating. I could see the writing on the wall that I was not gonna get a job anyway. |
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6. Most employers will not see your private experimenting as resume material. A good techie does this, but it is not considered experience as there is nothing "real" about it. OK. Can someone explain this to me - how do I get experience without getting the job and how do I get the job without the experience ? This is the whole reason I dropped out being so close to graduating. I could see the writing on the wall that I was not gonna get a job anyway. Ah, the ol' catch 22. As posted above, you'll have to take help desk type gigs with growing companies to get the experience. The reason I say growing companies is that you need some expansion or turnover to give you growing room. Otherwise you have to change companies often to work your way up. You might also consider a gig at a consulting company - the type which serves small businesses which cannot afford permanent IT staff. Nothing will teach you about making computers and networks function quite like being called upon to fix things after they've been FUBAR'ed on a budget. Or hell, found your own company to go after just those clients... Good luck. There is money to be made in the field, but you will have to pay your dues first.. Alpine |
And a wonderful catch-22 it is. 
fwiw I only need 10 hours for my bachelor's. I stopped in 2000 or so. It hasn't hurt me. Then again, I have the experience. You'll definitely be starting at the bottom and it's tough to say where to start. What's good today may not be good tomorrow. I'd say security is probably a good bet. I can say that after 10 years I'm bored to tears with software development. But it pays well so I keep showing up. 
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6. Most employers will not see your private experimenting as resume material. A good techie does this, but it is not considered experience as there is nothing "real" about it. OK. Can someone explain this to me - how do I get experience without getting the job and how do I get the job without the experience ? This is the whole reason I dropped out being so close to graduating. I could see the writing on the wall that I was not gonna get a job anyway. I'll tell you a little secret about how to get experience. One catch: You don't get paid a dime! Volunteer. I guarantee you there is a charitable organization within 30 minutes of your home that has a network and NO ONE to work on it for them. You might get stuck doing general Windows support as well, but you'll be in as a 'LAN Administrator' or 'Network Manager' or whatever. They also have LOTS of need for custom written apps, to help them with all of the same things that real Businesses need those applications for. And, unlike former employers, most of them will happily chat with anyone who calls for a reference. They don't worry (much...) about being sued for giving a bad reference, and for the most part they will give you a good reference as long as you don't burn the building down. For starters: United Way, American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the Salvation Army, any Blindness support group, any Guide Dog provisioning group, any Religious support group (or your own Church...), any Homeless Shelter with more than one location will have a network. For cool points: Civil Air Patrol (the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary), or the Coast Guard Auxiliary. CAP lets you wear a uniform, and the CGA requires that you wear a uniform. And they both look ALMOST as good as Military service on your resume to the average non-Military HR person. Good Luck! FluxPrism |
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Quoted: Quoted: 6. Most employers will not see your private experimenting as resume material. A good techie does this, but it is not considered experience as there is nothing "real" about it. OK. Can someone explain this to me - how do I get experience without getting the job and how do I get the job without the experience ? This is the whole reason I dropped out being so close to graduating. I could see the writing on the wall that I was not gonna get a job anyway. Ok, you have to be willing to take the shit jobs when you start. Get used to that idea. |